Bound by KA- BOOM
Fireworks are entwined with the birth of a nation
“The day will be themost memorable in the history of America. … It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade … bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this day forward forevermore.” — John Adams, in a letter to his wife Abigail on July 3, 1776
It’s a beloved Fourth of July ritual. As the day’s heat vanishes and the last slice of watermelon gets slurped down, the night sky erupts with the flash and sparkle of fireworks. For many Americans, Independence Day just wouldn’t be the same without that eye- popping spectacle.
Across the Bay Area, festivities have already begun. In Concord on Tuesday night the sky burst forth after a concert by “The Singing Flag,” an East Bay tradition. And in Richmond on Wednesday the sky was scheduled to be ablaze over the Craneway Pavilion following a concert by the Oakland East Bay Symphony.
But the big show, of course, is tonight, and as folks get ready to stake out prime viewing spots, we take a moment to ponder:
How did an ancient Chinese tradition become so intimately entwined with our most patriotic holiday? And what is it about these pyrotechnics that we adore anyway? Are the jaw- dropping explosions a reminder of wartime glory?
For Kayla Cahoon, of Pittsburg, at Dave Brubeck Park on Tuesday with her family, that’s a big part of it.
“When I see them, I always remember the national anthem and the rockets’ red glare, and it reminds me what people paid for us to be free,” Cahoon said. “It’s a great reminder of what this country really means.”
Then again, for some it may be that we just love the frisson of danger that comes with setting fire to the sky. Aficionados believe the allure is both primal and symbolic, which is why the tradition never loses its bang.
“We are fascinated by the fiery explosions, bursts of color and noise in the sky,” says Julie Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechnic Association, a trade organization, “but true patriots believe they are a reminder of bombs bursting in air, symbolic of celebrating our victorious freedom.”
The origins of fireworks stretch back to the ancients. The first firecracker is generally credited to the Chinese, who used bamboo tubes stuffed with explosives to ward off evil spirits about 1,000 years ago. While some historians say it may actually have begun in India, most agree that fireworks made their way to Europe in the 13th century with the return of the crusaders. Soon it became a popular part of religious and state festivals, and the Italians became the undisputed masters of the craft.
“It may have started with the Chinese, but we have definitely made it our own,” says Jeff Thomas, a producer for Pyro Spectaculars by Souza, which will light the heavens above San Francisco Bay and San Jose this year. “At this point, we think of it as American.”
Settlers to the New World brought the boom sticks to American shores long ago. By 1731, so many pranksters were setting off fireworks in the colony of Rhode Island that they were banned. So it’s easy to see why John Adams predicted that our hallowed day of independence would be forever marked by their glow.
On July 3, 1776, Adams wrote his wife Abigail: “The day will be the most memorable in the history of America. … It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade … bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this day forward forevermore.”
He made this prediction long before he knew the nation would survive the Revolutionary War, but history proved him right. Ever the patriot, Adams even passed away on the Fourth of July.
Still, the world has changed a lot since the Founding Fathers. Some rituals peter out in a few decades, but the booming growth of the fireworks industry suggests that Americans are more in love with these illuminations than ever. According to the pyrotechnic association, consumer fireworks generated $ 645 million in revenue in 2012 while public displays sparked another $ 320 million. That’s a lot of bucks for your bang.
Certainly one of the reasons we love fireworks is that we get a big thrill out of things that go boom. TNT, one of the country’s largest fireworks companies, does big business on products such as Bone Breaker, the Detonator and the Armory.
“The bigger the shell, the bigger the bang and the better we like it,” Thomas says. “Fireworks always draw a crowd because we are hard- wired to react to explosions above our heads. We are fascinated by them because they touch all of our senses.”
Dig a little deeper, however, and there is more to this pageant of fire and light than the ka- boom factor. Experts suggest this tradition ties us to our history as well as to each other as we gather together with our neighbors to gaze at the sizzling sky.
“The spectacle is, of course, what generates the huge crowds going ‘ ooooh’ and ‘ aaaah’ together, and the science of pyrotechnics has advanced as most assuredly has our ever- increasing demands for more,” says Scot Guenter, professor of American Studies at San Jose State University. “But it is the ritual of gathering to do this only on special occasions that brings the meaning.”
It’s how we remind ourselves — and teach the next generation — of who we are and what we stand for as a nation. In an age of uncertainty when how we define the rights and liberties of citizenship is under scrutiny, these red, white and blue traditions may be more important than ever.
“The fireworks ceremony for Independence Day when we gather in a park to watch them reminds us of the might and power of our nation- state,” Guenter says. “It not only reminds us of that power, it revels in it, and it suggests, through the communal gathering, that we are one people.”